


Four of Wands

by Hagzissa



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: A pynch of angst but not much, Canon Compliant, Cute Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Farmer Ronan, Fluff, Foul Language, Hand & Finger Kink, I love all these tags lmao, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, M/M, Post-Canon, Ronan Lynch Has Feelings, Ronan Lynch Loves Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch is Bad at Feelings, Ronan Lynch-centric, Sleeping Together, Tarot, The Barns (Raven Cycle), just lots of fluff okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 11:57:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12432342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hagzissa/pseuds/Hagzissa
Summary: "He sighed contentedly as Adam kissed him back. He took his hands out of his pockets and pulled him closer by his shirt. Adam broke the kiss to sink into his welcoming arms. Just for a bit.This was his favourite part of the evening."On Fridays, Adam spends the night with Ronan at the Barns. Fluff ensues.[written before the short story came out but mostly compliant]





	Four of Wands

**Author's Note:**

> This is just some self-indulgent, tooth-rotting fluff. I listened to this playlist while writing: https://open.spotify.com/user/hael95/playlist/4DVRyWnKTwubk5YqYYaiH6

It was a Friday night. Friday nights were Adam nights. Friday nights meant that there was no school in the morning and that work started late and that they could spend time together. Like always, Adam pulled up in his beat-up car around eight. Opal ran outside to greet him excitedly.

“Kerah, look, Adam!”

“Give him some space!” Ronan called out to her.

Opal ignored him as usual and Adam let himself be dragged up to the front door, where Ronan was waiting for him, his hands dug deep in the pockets of his jeans. Ronan had been looking forward to seeing Adam throughout the whole day but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let it show. They looked at each other, cautiously, thoroughly. There was a little sweat on Adam’s forehead, a little grease still on his knuckles. He was still in his work overall, tied around his waist. His shoulders were a little slumped and his eyes looked tired. _Damn school_ , Ronan thought. _Damn work_. He hated them for sucking the life out of Adam and for keeping them apart.

Whenever he hadn’t seen Adam in a while – and that happened much too frequently for his liking – he feared that maybe something had changed between them. There was always this nagging question in him whenever Adam stood in front of him like he did now. Did he still feel the same? He hated it. Hated how Adam could make him this insecure, simply by being Adam. Adam was too good to be true.

“Hi,” Adam said.

“Hi,” Ronan echoed.

He had once said he knew the difference between dream and reality. But with Adam he sometimes wasn’t sure if he could tell any more. There was something magical about him that had nothing to do with Cabeswater. The way his hair glowed in the sun, the way his brow furrowed when confronted with a difficult equation and the magnetic pull he seemed to emanate just now. Maybe it was just because he loved him so much. _Loved?! Jesus fuck_. But before he could think about it he leaned forward and brought their lips together. Adam’s were so, so, so much softer than he remembered. He sighed contentedly as Adam kissed him back. He took his hands out of his pockets and pulled him closer by his shirt. His hands wandered to his back. Adam broke the kiss to sink into his welcoming arms. _Just for a bit._

This was his favourite part of the evening.

Usually, Adam was the one to pull away, the one to remind him that they were, in fact, not alone. But not today. Today Adam buried his face in the crook of his neck, pressing a faint kiss on his skin. Ronan held him closer. He wouldn’t have minded if they had stood there for the rest of the night.

“We made dinner!” Opal chimed next to them, unaware of the moment they were having.

Ronan reluctantly let go of Adam.

“Come in,” he said.

 

Opal’s English was getting better. She had picked up a few of Gansey’s phoney phrases. It was driving Ronan nuts but he couldn’t really complain. It was English, after all. Gansey, Blue and Henry (or “the gang” as Henry called them) were regular guests at the Barns. They usually came together, packed in that damned orange car they all loved so much. They seemed inseparable of late and had apparently decided to stay that way after graduation. They usually talked about their road trip plans when they were there. First, they would travel through the country and then, “It’s Venezuela, baby,” Henry had proclaimed. Gansey’s and Blue’s faces lit up at that. Later, when Blue and Henry were feeding the chicken with Opal, he pulled Gansey aside.

“So, Henry – and you – and Blue?” he started.

Gansey’s turned an impressive shade of scarlet in no time.

“Um,” he made, “um, yeah.”

Ronan thought he would leave it at that. They had never been great at talking about personal matters. He would find out sooner or later anyway.

 

Ronan held the door open for Adam.

“We made dinner,” Opal repeated. “I helped,” she added proudly.

“The fuck you did,” Ronan said, remembering the mess on the kitchen floor, but he smiled at her. “You hungry?” he asked Adam.

“Yeah, but I think I need to get a shower first,” Adam replied. He tried not to show how tired he was, but his voice betrayed him.

“Okay.”

He gave Adam another quick kiss and then Adam made his way to the bathroom. He knew his way around the house by now. There was a toothbrush in the bathroom for him and a fresh set of clothes waiting in the drawer in Ronan’s room. It was like he was living here with them, except he was not. Not full-time. With school and his three jobs it was more convenient to stay in Henrietta. He had his priorities. And his priority right now was finishing school. And after graduation… They had been avoiding the topic. Adam was not talking about it and Ronan was not asking. They knew it couldn’t go on like that, but that’s where they were right now. Ronan knew that Adam was applying to colleges. Gansey had told him and it hadn’t surprised him. Adam’s and Ronan’s dreams had never been the same: Adam’s mind was ever focused on a much happier future, not like Ronan’s, who had always longed for a much happier past. What they had in common was that they wanted to live their lives on their own terms. So, Ronan respected Adam’s choices. He would never ask Adam to change for him. Now they were finally getting what they wanted: Ronan had gotten his home back and Adam was getting his independence. Except, those things weren’t the only thing they wanted anymore.

 

He could hear Opal’s hooves on the kitchen floor. _Click-clack, click-clack._ It was a familiar sound by now. Just as familiar as the sight of Adam coming back from his shower, hair wet, cheeks rosy. He was dressed in an old pair of sweatpants and an Aglionby sweater of Ronan’s.

He could tell it was his because it was just a little too big, exposing much of Adam’s tan collarbone. The sight made Ronan overflow with a warm fuzzy feeling. He cleared his throat.

“Let’s eat.”

They sat down with Ronan at the head of the table and Opal and Adam to his sides. This, too, was familiar. They told Adam about their day. They had been sorting through old dream things in the barns, covered in cobwebs, had tended to the little garden behind the house. The vegetables were coming up nicely. Ronan had dreamed up the seeds which was probably why they were prospering despite his lack of actual agricultural knowledge. He was learning, however. When he had dropped out of school it had been like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Declan had thrown a tantrum and Gansey had looked like he had just shot a puppy in front of his eyes. But both had quickly come back to their senses and to his surprise, Declan had actually offered his help. He was still in contact with some of the neighbouring farms and he had taken Ronan to a farm machine exhibition. So, when he was not exploring the premises with Opal he was reading up on fertilising and harvesting and the dairy business.

He had talked to Gansey a lot, too, in the passing weeks. He had known the Barns in their former glory and with Glendower gone, Gansey needed something to occupy his mind. (Henry had practically begged him to enlist Gansey. “He’s watched two documentaries on alien life, Ronan. And I think he googled Bigfoot yesterday when he thought I wasn’t looking.”)

They were still trying to figure out if there was a way to wake his father’s cows. There had been no progress so far and Ronan was considering other options. Maybe it was for the better. The memories of what had happened to Matthew when he had been unmade, of what had happened to his mother, were still fresh on his mind.

 

Adam listened as they talked. He usually stayed rather quiet during dinner, but when they had finished eating some of the glow had returned to Adam’s eyes. He got up and started to clear the table.

“Leave it,” Ronan said. “I’ll do it tomorrow.”

He took his hand when Adam reached for his plate.

“Bed time, goat girl,” Ronan announced.

“Ronan!” Adam protested. “Don’t call her that.”

Opal, however, did not seem to mind the nickname. It was the first part of Ronan’s utterance that bothered her.

“But I wanna stay up and play with Chainsaw, Kerah” Opal said pleadingly.

The raven, who had perched on top of the kitchen counter, cawed at this and landed on her shoulder. Ronan looked sternly at them both.

“Adam? Can I?” Opal tried.

“You heard what Kerah said,” Adam told her patiently.

Ronan felt his heart skip a beat when he heard Adam use that name for him. With any other person he would have protest, but it was Adam, so he didn’t. If he was honest with himself, it didn’t bother him at all. On the contrary, it was all rather too much for him. He realised he was clutching Adam’s tightly and loosened his grip. Adam gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“So now she’s going to you, if she wants something,” he noted in a hushed voice as Opal led the way to her bedroom. It had been Matthew’s room once. His old bed was filled halfway by pillows and cushion forming a nest. They settled on it. Opal buried under a plaid, Ronan resting against the head of the bed and Adam sitting on its edge. This was his favourite part of the evening.

Opal had picked a book from a messy stack next to the bed. Sometimes it was easy to forget that she wasn’t a human girl but a dream creature. She had lived through all his nightmares. He sometimes thought he could see some of that darkness in her eyes and it frightened him a little. But not now, not when Adam read her a story. He absentmindedly combed his fingers through her hair, while watching Adam reading. He was so beautiful in the soft light of the bedside lamp, a golden glow on his hair, his eyelashes long as he looked down on the book he was holding in his slender fingers. God, those fingers.

Opal was yawning wildly. Two minutes later she was fast asleep. Adam slowly closed the book. There was an incredibly fond look on his face when he caressed Opal’s cheek. _God, I love you._

 

They went straight to Ronan’s room after that. This, too, was familiar.

Ronan’s room looked different from when Adam had first seen it at the day of their first kiss. Ronan had brought his things from Monmouth. There was Chainsaw’s cage, abandoned in a corner; his sword collection now displayed neatly on the walls; a beat-up cassette deck he had rescued from the trash on the floor and, hidden away in an old shoe box, a photo of him, Matthew and Declan at Christmas in 2002. He had swapped the single bed of his childhood days for a queen-sized one. His stuffed animals and toys had found a new home in Opal’s room, all except for one. The shiny car model sat on his bedside-table. Sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep, he would turn its wheels and listen to the melody it played. He would think of the electric feeling of kissing Adam for the first time in this very room. Of his heart beating and beating when they climbed the stairs back down to face the birthday party, his hands shaky. And then of Adam finally kissing him back.

 

Ronan closed the door behind them. And then Adam was right there in his space. He placed one hand on Ronan’s right cheek and kissed the other. Ronan turned his head to meet his mouth. This was Adam’s cue. He dived right in. Ronan was pushed against the bedroom door, Adam’s warm body pressed up against him. The kiss was deep, hungry. _I missed you_ , it said. _I missed you so much._ He almost bit on Adam’s lower lip, but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead he opened his mouth a little so that their tongues could meet. They were warm, soft, were dancing, exploring. Ronan’s fingers found into Adam’s hair. He held onto it, pulling a little to get better access to his mouth. They kissed and kissed until they were both breathless. Adam’s mouth trailed from his lips to his jaw to his neck to his collarbone, hot against his skin. Adam’s hands wandered down his chest, finding a place on his waist.

They made their way to the bed without letting go of each other. Adam stumbled against the bedframe. Ronan pressed into him, making Adam lose his balance and land on the mattress.

“Oops,” Ronan said in a tone that indicated that this was totally not accidental.

“Fuck you,” Adam said, without any real edge, kicking his shins lightly.

“If you insist,” Ronan said, evading his kicks.

“Smooth, Ronan,” Adam replied. “Real smooth.”

He allowed Ronan to lie down beside him and Ronan put an arm around his hips. His right hand found Adam’s. He brought it to his lips, putting little kisses on each knuckle. Adam’s skin was a little rough from work.

“Yes,” Adam said softly.

“Hm?” Ronan made, looking up from their intertwined fingers.

“I insist.”

This _definitely_ was his favourite part of the evening.

 

They ended up draped around each other in the bed, their clothes lying in one big pile next to it. His head was resting on Adam’s chest, their legs loosely intertwined under the sheets. Adam’s fingers were tracing the lines of Ronan’s tattoo, invisible in the darkness. He felt Adam’s steady heartbeat under him, the rise and fall of his breathing. He wanted this. Preferably forever.

Adam shifted under him, kissing his forehead. He knew it was a request to move into a different position. So he rolled to his side, pulling Adam with him so he was pressed against his back. Ronan Lynch, little spoon. There was something inherently comforting about Adam’s touch. It centred him. There were still some nights where he couldn’t fall asleep and some night where he woke up drenched in sweat, panicking that he had brought something with him… but those nights were getting fewer and fewer. The truth was that he slept better when Adam was there next to him.

* * *

 

He woke up in the early morning hours. A dim light filtered through the blinds. The sun had to be coming up. He looked at the alarm clock next to the bed. Four fifty. The mattress next to him was cold and empty. Adam. He got up, fishing for his underwear in the pile of clothes. He tip-toed through the long corridor, past Declan’s and Opal’s room. He checked the living room first. No Adam there. The kitchen was next. The plates were still sitting on the table. The clock on the wall ticked audibly. _Tic toc, tic toc_. He panicked slightly. He wouldn’t leave just like that, right? He made his way to kitchen door. He searched the pockets of his jacket for his phone and checked it for messages. There were three messages from Henry. The first was a photo of Gansey and Blue at a diner, the second of Gansey sleeping on the couch, his glasses askew. The third was a series of emojis that Ronan was not in the mood of decrypting at the moment. He put the phone back and slipped into the wellington boots he was wearing around the Barns.

 

He found Adam on the porch. He was wearing the clothes of the night before, his feet bare. He sat cross-legged on the wood-panelled floor. He didn’t look up when Ronan approached. His eyes were fixed on a spread of tarot cards in front of him. Ronan sat down opposite of him, the morning air cool on his skin. He shivered a little. He wanted to ask what Adam was doing out here, why he wasn’t with him in bed. He looked at the cards between them. The colourful images looked familiar to him by now; he recognised the card at the centre: _The Magician_.

“I’ve been thinking,” Adam said without looking up.

Ronan stared at him, intensely. _Oh God._

“About what’s going to happen when I finish school,” he continued.

He paused as if he expected Ronan to say something. Ronan remained silent. He was petrified. This was it, wasn’t it?

“The cards. They help me think,” Adam said. “I mean it’s not like it was before. I’m not… I’m not psychic but they help me realise things, you know. Help me find out what I want.”

He tapped one of the card. _The World_ it read. Ronan shuddered. Of course. Adam wanted the world. What could had he to offer but a bunch of dusty shacks and sleeping cows? Adam would tell him that he wanted to break up that he would go to college and that he needed to focus on his studies –

“You know I always wanted to escape this place – _Henrietta_.”

He stressed the name, letting his accent come through.

“I felt like if I could put as many miles behind me as possible, I would be this other person. Like I could just eradicate my past. Like it won’t always be a part of me. I though that I could be… I don’t know, just be Gansey or something.”

He let out a half-laugh and finally looked up. Ronan was still not sure where this conversation would take them.

“I’m glad you’re you,” he said honestly, but cautiously.

Adam smiled. That was a good sign, wasn’t it?

“I now know that it’s not that easy. It doesn’t matter where I go. All this, this will always be a part of me. But… I’m starting to think that’s okay, you know. I’m okay.”

He touched the cards in front of him. Two people holding chalices, seven cups filled with mysterious objects.

“For the first time, I don’t want to leave this place,” he confessed. “It feels like… It feels like home.”

 _Then stay,_ Ronan thought. _Stay._

Adam picked up the last two cards and handed them to Ronan. _Four of Wands. Six of Cups._ Ronan regarded the latter, which showed a little boy and girl in a garden of flowers.

“What do the cards mean?” Ronan asked hesitantly.

“That I want to come back,” Adam answered quickly. “The cards. It’s the Barns.”

Ronan could hear the question behind it, even if Adam didn’t ask it.

“Okay,” he said.

“Okay,” Adam said, relief obvious on his face.

He scrambled to his feet. He offered Ronan his hand and pulled him up. He held his hand as they walked back towards the door.

“Do you also have a card for me?” Ronan asked curiously.

“On a good day? _The Hermit,_ ” Adam said smirking. “On a bad day? _The Fool._ ”

“Fuck you!” Ronan boxed him on the shoulder.

“No, fuck _you_ ,” Adam said, leaning in for a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyway, if you liked this let me know. I'm a sucker for comments!


End file.
